A Moment With Austenland's JJ Feild

It's not hard to see why screenwriter Jerusha Hess cast JJ Field as the romantic hero of her kooky summer charmer, Austenland, which premiered last weekend on both coasts. He's got the accent, the dry humor, those heart-melting good looks. And he's used them all before in PBS's Northanger Abbey.

Suffice it to say, JJ is our favorite thing to emerge from an industrious 200th anniversary year of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice—and that's competing against five plus books in tribute to the author (including Jane Austen, Game Theorist) and a 12-foot statue immortalizing Colin Firth-as-Mr. Darcy-in-a-wet-tee-shirt in London's Hyde Park.

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In the movie, JJ plays Henry Nobley, nephew to the owner of an Austen-themed retreat, where he drags his feet begrudgingly until meeting a thirty-something Janeite named Jane, played by Keri Russell. Henry takes a while to warm up to, but JJ is the kind of guy who will call you from his vacation just to say hi. So he called us from his vacation with actress Neve Campbell and their newborn son, Caspian, to tell us about his 19th-centuryadventures and what's on his timeline next, and to say hi.

Harper's Bazaar:Where are you calling from?

JJ Feild: I'm hiding away in Ojai for a few days. My missus and I came up here when she was pregnant, and she sort of just fell in love with it. It holds a very special place in our hearts because it's actually where we found out she was pregnant. It's like the antithesis to Los Angeles. They call it the Tuscany of California. I think that's a bit—hopeful. But it does have that kind of Provence or Tuscany style.

HB: In Austenland, you're clearly poised to be the modern-day Darcy to Keri Russell's Jane. How much of a Mr. Darcy are you in real life?

JJF: I would say I'm slightly socially inept, and the idea of public dancing and public dinners does fill me with dread. But I'm also a bit of a clown, so I'm not sure I'd be able to hold the Darcy stare in real life.

HB: What did you think about the movie's concept at first?

JJF: You know, it's funny. I had done the lead role in a Jane Austen before, and so when Jerusha asked to meet me, she said to me, "Are you willing to make fun of yourself in aJane Austen?" and I said, "Please. Absolutely." Because I think we can take ourselves a bit too seriously sometimes. I've done a lot of costume drama, so I was very, very happy. Then I read the script and was like, "This is hilarious. This is absolutely perfect."

HB: How big a Jane Austen fan were you coming into the project?

JJF: After I left drama school, I ended up doing every costume drama possible. If there was a top hat and a horse, I was in it. And then I was very lucky to get a lead role in a Jane Austen, in Northanger Abbey, which I shot with Jon Jones in Ireland quite a while ago. Apparently, Jerusha had seen that and thought, "That's the guy." I'd hope that it's not because they saw it and thought my performance was hilarious.

HB: I was ecstatic to find out that Austenland-type vacation
packages really do exist. What do you think—are you open to Ojai alternatives?

JJF: Oh my god. I'm booking one right now, as long as Jennifer Coolidge goes with me.

HB: What's your personal Jane Austen? If you wrote fanfic what would it be about?

JJF: I have a mild obsession with an American crime author called James Lee Burke. They're New Orleans cop novels. I'm on book seventeen of eighteen, which is ridiculous. The character is called Dave Robicheaux, and I would go to the Dave Robicheux theme park.

JJF: I shot a pilot for AMC called "Turn," and that got picked up, so we'll be filming pretty soon.That's all about the War of Independence and spies. I'm the head of the British spy ring. And we've completed Not Safe for Work, a great, little film by Joe Johnson. We did Captain America together, and I was very touched that he asked me to do that film. Basically a hit man goes into a law firm to knock someone off, and he doesn't see the intern who is played by Max Minghella, so it's an hour and a half of me chasing Max Minghella around an office building. It was great fun.

HB: And very different from the other titles you've worked on.

JJF: I sort of have a split personality. I do a nice, Jane Austen-type part, and then I do parts in films like in Telstar. I'm either a killer or I'm innocent. Nothing in between.

HB: What do you like to wear to premieres?

JJF: I'm very lucky in that Armani have always given me beautiful suits. And for the more casual events, I'll be looking to John Varvatos. I love their stuff.

HB: And you have another new role, as a first-time father to baby Caspian. How is that treating you?

JJF: It's heaven. I cannot put into words the joy and pride of being a father. I love every single minute of it.

HB: How did you and Neve decide on the name?

JJF: You know, you come up with a million options, and then you meet the child, and you just know. When we met Caspian, there was no question. That was his name.